Wednesday, 19 October 2016

Penang the Champion of GDP Per Capita Growth in 2015

Lim Guan Eng (LGE) is still harping and gloating on the fact that Penang is the “champion” of GDP per capita growth among states in Malaysia.

True, Penang registered the highest growth in term of GDP per capita of 6.4% in 2015 as claimed by LGE but what does it mean to the people of Penang?

Did this 6.4% growth translate into higher salary for workers in Penang? Did the highest growth of GDP per capita mean Penang’s salary and income growth were the highest in Malaysia?

Last year (2015) median monthly salary and wage for workers in Penang was RM1,700 and a year before that (2014) it was RM1,700 which means in 2015, there was no growth in monthly salary and wage for workers in Penang.

Here are the data for median monthly salaries and wages by State from 2010 to 2015 provided by Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM):